From the Wilmington News Journal, January 1, 1927.
The Strangest Names In American Political History makes a rare stop in Delaware to profile Delsworth Mote Buckingham, a lifelong resident of Hockessin who represented his town for one term in the state assembly. Born in Hockessin on August 22, 1866, Delsworth Mote Buckingham was one of three children born to Richard Gilpin (1841-1939) and Sarah (Mote) Buckingham (1841-1882). Little is known of his early life, except notice of his being a painter and paperhanger by trade, and in September 1896 married his first wife Etta Stone. By 1900 he remarried to Minnie Ament (1866-1934) and following their separation married Adeline Klair (1865-1961), to who he was wed until his death. These marriages were childless.
Active in several fraternal groups in New Castle County, Buckingham was elected assistant secretary of the Newark Lodge, No. 3, Independent Order of Good Templars in 1886, and was a member of the Independent Order of Red Men, the Odd Fellows, the Loyal Order of Moose, and the Armstrong Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. A devout Presbyterian, Buckingham was a parishioner at the Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church for three decades and was a Sunday school superintendent.
Prior to his time in the legislature, Buckingham had never held political office and entered into the race for state representative from New Castle County in 1926. That November he was elected, besting Democratic nominee Lewis Dickey, 879 votes to 506. Taking his seat in January 1927, Buckingham chaired the committees on Charities and Public Health and was named to the committees on Education, Elections, the Judiciary, Public Highways, and Temperance.
Following his term, Buckingham continued residence in New Castle County, and in May 1934 was reelected Red Clay Creek Sunday school superintendent for the ninth consecutive year. His final years were marred by a heart condition, and on October 14, 1951, he died of a heart attack at his home. He was survived by his wife Adeline, and both were interred at the Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
From the Wilmington News Journal, October 15, 1951.
This is my Great Uncle Del. I would post a picture of him from the early 1900's but don't see how to do so. I do not know the origin of his first name, but his middle name is his mothers maiden name. The Mote's had owned the land near Milford Crossroads, where the Wallgreens strip mall is today. Perhaps they still do, I am unsure. Uncle Del grew up in Corner Ketch on my Great Grandfathers farm that is a combination of the land now occupied by Estates of Corner Ketch and what had been William DuPont's estate on Rocky Hill - as we knew it historically before S. Halleck DuPont purchased that land from my Grandfather, Richard G. Buckingham II - Uncle Del's brother. In the early part of the 20th century Del was a traveling salesman, according to my father. Del had a drinking problem and would often call my Grandfather asking for him to wire money to him (Del) so he could get back home. On one such sales venture Del was in a saloon somewhere in the mid-west when a man come in selling stock for a new company forming. General Motors. Del was drunk at the time and used every dollar he had to invest in this new company. I have no idea how much that amounted to but my Dad said that once again Del called his father (my Grandfather) to ask him to wire money to him for train fare to get home. Well years went by and Del never sold the GM stock he purchased. That stock passed to Aunt Addie (who lived over in Hockessin, the house is still there) who left a sizable amount to Red Clay Church - again, according to our family lore. Uncle Del died a few years before I was born, so this info is all from my father. I assume, some my be inaccurate, but this is what I recall.
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